ID :
198987
Wed, 08/03/2011 - 14:11
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/198987
The shortlink copeid
Deaths down, costs up in Pacific disasters
SYDNEY (AAP) -The chance of being killed in a natural disaster in the Pacific has dropped by a third in the past 20 years, but the economic cost of such events is skyrocketing, a new report has found.
The United Nations report, released in Auckland on Wednesday, praised small Pacific nations for improving their disaster response planning so markedly that fewer people should die when the next tsunami or tropical cyclone hits.
However, it warns economic losses related to the disasters are increasing across the globe, critically threatening the economies of small Pacific Island states.
The Global Assessment Report states one disaster could set economic development back several decades, particularly in countries with small, vulnerable economies and very low national savings.
The 2009 Pacific tsunami, for instance, cost Samoa US$104 million, more than five per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while a 2007 tsunami cost the Solomon Islands 90 per cent of its annual budget.
"This report shows us, without a doubt, that risks are accumulating in all economies," report coordinator Andrew Maskrey said.
"We ignore it, literally, at our peril. This report only confirms what we already suspected, and I think we're beginning to realise that it is time to band together and take the action necessary to stem the widespread economic and developmental losses we are witnessing."
Australia's Queensland floods, and earthquakes in northern Japan and Christchurch were used as examples of how people and economies have increasingly become victims of unpredictable events.
But the series of New Zealand earthquakes was also held up as an example of how a country that proactively addressed disaster risk could achieve "astonishing" results.
The first massive quake of September 3 felled 500 buildings but no lives were lost. The second more violent February shake killed 181, still a relatively low toll which could be attributed to tough building regulations and strict enforcement.
The report praises Pacific nations like Vanuatu that have worked pre-emptively to develop extensive disaster plans. With an active volcanic island in the north threatening to erupt, authorities have created a contingency plan that factors in a mass relocation of islanders and making emergency funds available.
It also commends Tonga for endorsing a world-first disaster preparedness plan.
Last month, Tonga's Director of Meteorology 'Ofa Fa'anunu admitted the kingdom was woefully ill-prepared for a tsunami many feared would be triggered by an undersea earthquake.
It never eventuated, but that was just as well. Several emergency warning systems, including an Australian-run tidal monitoring gauge, failed during the scare.
The report was launched at a regional disaster risk management conference intended to help 22 Pacific nations develop a road map to cope with disaster risk management and climate change.
The United Nations report, released in Auckland on Wednesday, praised small Pacific nations for improving their disaster response planning so markedly that fewer people should die when the next tsunami or tropical cyclone hits.
However, it warns economic losses related to the disasters are increasing across the globe, critically threatening the economies of small Pacific Island states.
The Global Assessment Report states one disaster could set economic development back several decades, particularly in countries with small, vulnerable economies and very low national savings.
The 2009 Pacific tsunami, for instance, cost Samoa US$104 million, more than five per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while a 2007 tsunami cost the Solomon Islands 90 per cent of its annual budget.
"This report shows us, without a doubt, that risks are accumulating in all economies," report coordinator Andrew Maskrey said.
"We ignore it, literally, at our peril. This report only confirms what we already suspected, and I think we're beginning to realise that it is time to band together and take the action necessary to stem the widespread economic and developmental losses we are witnessing."
Australia's Queensland floods, and earthquakes in northern Japan and Christchurch were used as examples of how people and economies have increasingly become victims of unpredictable events.
But the series of New Zealand earthquakes was also held up as an example of how a country that proactively addressed disaster risk could achieve "astonishing" results.
The first massive quake of September 3 felled 500 buildings but no lives were lost. The second more violent February shake killed 181, still a relatively low toll which could be attributed to tough building regulations and strict enforcement.
The report praises Pacific nations like Vanuatu that have worked pre-emptively to develop extensive disaster plans. With an active volcanic island in the north threatening to erupt, authorities have created a contingency plan that factors in a mass relocation of islanders and making emergency funds available.
It also commends Tonga for endorsing a world-first disaster preparedness plan.
Last month, Tonga's Director of Meteorology 'Ofa Fa'anunu admitted the kingdom was woefully ill-prepared for a tsunami many feared would be triggered by an undersea earthquake.
It never eventuated, but that was just as well. Several emergency warning systems, including an Australian-run tidal monitoring gauge, failed during the scare.
The report was launched at a regional disaster risk management conference intended to help 22 Pacific nations develop a road map to cope with disaster risk management and climate change.
